General

About our campaign

What is Wayne State's comprehensive fundraising campaign?

Pivotal Moments: Our Campaign for Wayne State University is an ambitious effort with a goal to raise $750 million by 2018, the 150th anniversary of the university's founding. The campaign is essential for Wayne State to achieve its vision to become a preeminent public urban research university.

Wayne State invites alumni, friends, corporations and foundations to invest in four priority areas. These four priorities are to:

Inspire our students and faculty to be curious and passionate;

Discover new approaches, solutions and areas of inquiry through multidisciplinary, translational and applied research;

Create fresh expressions of existing knowledge;

Engage through community service, enriching the culture and economy of Detroit and beyond.

Our priorities are broad in their reach because Wayne State is broad in its mission. However, students remain our top priority, and our goal is to raise $275 million for student scholarships and programs.

The university also has set a goal for one-quarter of our campaign total to ensure permanent endowment funding, with the primary focus of new endowment resources to support students and faculty.

A fundraising campaign provides excitement and engagement around key areas of growth for the university, while celebrating the many individuals who have helped shape Wayne State's past and will play an important role in creating our future. The excitement created by a campaign generally results in increased giving that would not have happened otherwise.

Philanthropic support helps Wayne State achieve our mission and create pivotal moments for students, faculty and the community. Private support provides resources beyond traditional funding sources, such as tuition, state support and government research grants. This additional funding helps ensure Wayne State can be excellent in education, research and community engagement, while also providing opportunities for promising students to earn a degree at a nationally recognized, research-intensive university.

While the Pivotal Moments campaign is a university-wide effort with overall university priorities, each of the schools, colleges and units also have their own priorities and projects that align with the overall university campaign.

Every gift that is made during the campaign, regardless of where it is directed, will count toward the campaign goal of $750 million.

Gifts may be designated to any school, college or program area of interest to you. Gift officers represent each of the university's schools and colleges and are happy to speak with you. Find out who to contact. Or you can make a gift online and designate the specific area you wish to support.

Thousands of alumni and friends give to Wayne State University every year. These annual gifts provide important and immediate support for a variety of university programs and initiatives, including scholarships, research, faculty support and community outreach. The university encourages annual donors to support the areas that are of most interest to them. Learn more about annual gifts.

Wayne State University has a call center that employs current students who reach out to alumni, parents, friends and graduating seniors year-round in support of university initiatives. The Student Call Center's mission is to increase annual giving participation and share information about campus programs. Student callers are committed to encouraging support for the Wayne State experience for the benefit of students today and tomorrow. Learn more about the Wayne State University Student Call Center.

Contact your legal advisor to designate Wayne State University as a beneficiary in your will or trust, and then notify our Planned Gifts team at 313-577-8346 or rmacgregor@wayne.edu. A number of gift planning vehicles are available to fit your estate plan. Learn more about planned gifts.

Gifts of personal property such as real estate and other valuable personal assets may be donated to Wayne State University. To do so, contact our Planned Gifts team at 313-577-8346 or rmacgregor@wayne.edu. Learn more about gifts of real estate or personal property, also known as a gift-in-kind.

Many employers have a matching gift program that will match charitable contributions made by their employees. These gifts can double or triple the amount of your gift. Contact your human resources office to find out if your employer will match your gift to Wayne State University.

You may deduct charitable contributions of money or property to Wayne State University if you itemize your deductions. Always consult with a qualified advisor on questions of fair market value and other tax considerations.

Visit the university's online giving page to make a gift in memory or in honor of someone. The university is pleased to send notification of tribute gifts when you include the recipient's name and address with your gift. Contact gift processing at 313-577-2263 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or send an email to fundoffice@lists.wayne.edu if you have questions.

An endowed fund at Wayne State University exists in perpetuity for the purposes determined by the donor. An endowed fund is established with a minimum gift of $25,000. The invested principal of the endowed fund is never spent, and earnings support the purpose designated by the donor. Learn more about endowed gifts.

When a donor establishes an endowed fund it is invested in the Wayne State University endowment. The endowment consists of pooled funds that reside in the university's Common Trust Fund. The funds are invested by external managers and monitored by the Wayne State University Foundation Investment Committee and an external advisor. Learn more about the Wayne State University endowment.

Donors who have established an endowed fund at Wayne State University receive an annual report on their investment. For more information, contact Donor Relations at 313-577-8085 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

General information

The Wayne State University Foundation was established in 2000 to provide a centralized means of encouraging and managing financial support by private sources. The foundation operates as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation and partners with the university in overall advancement objectives. Learn more about the Wayne State University Foundation.